My first ride on a Brooks saddle, and i have lived to tell the tale! After what i've heard of the breaking in process and the rigorous scientific method of tapping the thing with my knuckles and going "gee that feels rock solid..", i decided to throw caution (and the potential of becoming a father one day) to the wind. And it was pretty good. It actually got better the more i rode, not amazingly comfortable but not UNcomfortable so it will be staying, at least for a while.

Managed a pretty good 40odd k on the Dawes this morning with said Brooks B17 and while i wasn't pushing too hard i ticked along alright, the new chain was running smoothly (lovely ) and i enjoyed myself, which is of course the actual reason for doing any of this.

No riding this afternoon though as i had the very interesting experience of the driveshaft on my dad's ute snapping off, not through any fault of mine so all good.

Tomorrow evening while stef is at work i'll be doing hill repeats at gyndier on the Dawes, the gearing works really well there so i should be able to put in some good times.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

I headed over to Gyndier after work yesterday, very keen to have a burl on the Dawes and she didn't disappoint. After one run up and down to warm up i went at it hard and managed to take 21 seconds off my previous best, now down to just 6:08 at 28.5kmh average. Gotta be happy with being only 41 seconds off the KOM (a commonwealth gold medalist no less!), although obviously the faster you get the harder those extra seconds are.

I went on to do 7 repeats in all, alternating between staying seated all the way (difficult) and staying out of the saddle all the way (really difficult!). I really enjoyed myself so i decided to head back there again this afternoon.

My lungs were working alright but my legs were pretty tired from yesterday's effort, so only 5 average repeats before heading over to check out the new criterium track (very cool, and that hill ), then back to Gyndier for one last run up to confirm that yes, i was completely shagged.

A good stretch and lie down was just the ticket after that, and a rest for tomorrow i think.

I also took the opportunity to let Shadow do some posing, isn't she gorgeous?

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Thanks man, nice work on kinglake, i'd love to get down that way and hit up all those big climbs like kinglake, up at buller and the rest.I'm so in love with the Dawes, got the Dawes branded waterbottle and cage, Dawes branded bars going on as soon as the tape needs replacing, original shop advertising sign, and a 1994 jersey and 1984 catalogue on their way . I'm seriously considering going to a screenprinting sort of place and getting a Dawes mug made, and maybe some other stuff while i'm at it.I'm sick .

Had a ripper ride to work this morning on the Dawes, felt great just ripping along, sitting on 44kmh like it's no big deal . Fantastic stuff. I had completely forgotten that i had an appointment with the doc to get a mole cut out, so that ruled out riding home (i mean i could have but discretion is the better part of valour). Pity as i was thinking of having another crack at bettering my Coolum KOM, another day.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

I'm happy for you that you are comfortable with your saddle in that position. Most saddles are set up horizontal, and brooks saddles are frequently nose up. This lets you slide away from the sensitive areas and sit further toward the back of the saddle.

I set mine with a spirit level over the whole length from rivets to rivet. This means that the narrow part of the saddle is angled slightly up. Whilst I know folks who ride B17s and Flyers with their bars below their saddles, most who do choose one of the following B17N, Team Pro, Swift and Swallow.

If you did change your angle you'd likely also have to change the height too.

Yep, yep and yep. I've read a bit on here about Brooks saddles and they all say pretty much the same thing with regards to angle. If i was getting a Brooks specifically for this bike i would probably go with a swift, or at least something that drops a bit more at the nose. Even with the angle i have this one at, it still gets just a little too intimate with my gentleman's area when i'm tucked right down in the drops. The pressure on my sitbones was fairly noticeable this morning but still reasonable, my normal saddle is a selle smp so i'm not used to having any weight near my sitbones at all.I'm interested to see how it goes as it breaks in, and most importantly it looks fantastic, so if need be i can just stand up and work harder! .

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

ldrcycles wrote:Yep, yep and yep. I've read a bit on here about Brooks saddles and they all say pretty much the same thing with regards to angle. If i was getting a Brooks specifically for this bike i would probably go with a swift, or at least something that drops a bit more at the nose. Even with the angle i have this one at, it still gets just a little too intimate with my gentleman's area when i'm tucked right down in the drops. The pressure on my sitbones was fairly noticeable this morning but still reasonable, my normal saddle is a selle smp so i'm not used to having any weight near my sitbones at all.I'm interested to see how it goes as it breaks in, and most importantly it looks fantastic, so if need be i can just stand up and work harder! .

As far as I can tell there is very little difference with the nose of these saddles. (I have 3 of the four) The saddles used by people with low hands are narrower at the back of the saddle. This probably relates to the shape of the bones as they rotate forward although I'm no expert in anatomy. That being said I know a couple of people who prefer the wider saddles with a low hand position so there is considerable room for variation.

Your feelings of 'intimacy' are precisely why you should be tipping the saddle back, to get the weight off that area (and to save your back as it keeps having to push you back onto the saddle). Try the conventional wisdom first (probably with your seat up to 10mm lower to compensate), don't discount the conventional position based on an impression gained by anything other than by riding on it.

ldrcycles wrote:Thanks man, nice work on kinglake, i'd love to get down that way and hit up all those big climbs like kinglake, up at buller and the rest.I'm so in love with the Dawes, got the Dawes branded waterbottle and cage, Dawes branded bars going on as soon as the tape needs replacing, original shop advertising sign, and a 1994 jersey and 1984 catalogue on their way . I'm seriously considering going to a screenprinting sort of place and getting a Dawes mug made, and maybe some other stuff while i'm at it.I'm sick .

Had a ripper ride to work this morning on the Dawes, felt great just ripping along, sitting on 44kmh like it's no big deal . Fantastic stuff. I had completely forgotten that i had an appointment with the doc to get a mole cut out, so that ruled out riding home (i mean i could have but discretion is the better part of valour). Pity as i was thinking of having another crack at bettering my Coolum KOM, another day.

thanks man, took a whole 2.5 mins off my PB. couldnt believe it. the fitness is there no doubt.kinglake is awesome man! theres so many others that i havent ridden around here, but ill get to them.i wanna ride cootha up your way, my uncle lives in mooloolaba. next time im up im taking the bike to train with him and his mates, gonna be awesome! might have to hook up for a ride ey?

zakka101 wrote:thanks man, took a whole 2.5 mins off my PB. couldnt believe it. the fitness is there no doubt.kinglake is awesome man! theres so many others that i havent ridden around here, but ill get to them.i wanna ride cootha up your way, my uncle lives in mooloolaba. next time im up im taking the bike to train with him and his mates, gonna be awesome! might have to hook up for a ride ey?

Absolutely man, but forget coot-tha, it's got a nice view from the top and the downhill is cool but as climbs go, big deal. A ripper from mooloolaba would be down to caloundra then inland through landsborough to do Bald Knob, downhill through conondale to kenilworth, up the Obi Obi (max is supposedly 42%!), then an awesome downhill from mapleton to nambour.Or better still, set aside a day to go to Canungra and do O'Reilly's, 35km climb, absolutely unbeatable.

You should definitely get yourself a singlespeed, they're great training. Don't worry about having too many, i have 51 atm!

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Back on the bike again this morning, 44k on the singlespeed targeting a few segments. Felt pretty good although it was a little warm and windy due to a later than normal start. Managed to get 2 KOMs and 2nd on another, though that's downhill and really just needs a geared bike to get the job done.

One of the segments in particular has me very happy, "Wahpungah Hill" on the other side of Kin Kin is a short and not particularly steep climb on my usual training ride, and when i first started riding that way my goal was to hold 30kmh the whole way. Well today i averaged 36.1, and with a geared bike i reckon i could have a little bit more .

Tomorrow morning will be another short run on the Dawes and then a rest on saturday before the Tour de Tamborine sunday. VERY excited for that one as the climb back up from Canungra is an absolute corker.

My new cranks arrived today so i got stuck in to building up the Malvern Star but unfortunately i have misplaced the shifters and so can't finish it tonight .Oh well, it'll be worth the wait i'm sure.

Up: A good ride on the Dawes this morning, a bit shorter than i would have liked due to time constraints but ticked along pretty well. Stef found accommodation for Saturday night, and managed to knock $40 off the price while she was at it .

Down: I attempted to finish off the Malvern Star and it has been one thing after another, the main issues are not having enough outer casing to get the front derailleur hooked up, and the rear derailleur for some reason will not move in far enough to reach the biggest cog, the limit screw is backed right out but the cable anchor bolt is actually bottoming out on the derailleur body. I'm hoping that the blokes at the LBS will be able to find the solution tomorrow, as well as the Scott has served me, i'm keen to move on.

.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

First things first, the cause of the rear derailleur issue was found- I crash too much. As a result i'm used to seeing scratches and gouges on bits of equipment, so thought nothing of the road rash on the rear derailleur, turns out the plate the cable fixing bolt is attached to had been bent in from the impact it had taken, a bit of work with screwdriver and pliers had it sorted.

As for the outer casing i had 2 choices, use some normal black stuff (not going to happen as i got Jagwire cable sets specifically for the funky colour), or use brake cable outer. It works perfectly so far and i can't see why it wouldn't continue to work.

On to the ride, we arrived at the Tall Trees Motel (bit shabby in the garden department but the room was very nice, with a HUGE tv) and after dinner at the Canungra Hotel i set about getting the Oppy ready to go, finished it off about 11, went up and down the road to check it was working and was absolutely delighted with the feel of it. In the cold light of day it isn't as startling as that first ride but it is a great bit of gear, very solid and quick, though i felt it was quite buzzy and harsh in the front end (perhaps the tyre pressure was a bit higher than normal though so i'll investigate).The important thing is that the shifting and braking worked without even a hint of trouble for the whole ride, and the shifting is MUCH better than the Tiagra on the Scott, absolutely lovely.

The ride started off reasonably well, ticking along ok but not brilliant (perhaps due to lack of sleep!) and trying to get as near to the front as possible while i had a chance before the Goat Track. The Goat Track is one of the worst bits of road i have ever seen, and it really shouldn't be used for a mass participation event. Even with brand new pads and brakes that had been set up to work absolutely as well as possible it was still very scary, partly due to the ridiculous gradient making it very hard to keep the speed in check and partly because of the dreadful surface, which makes the braking even harder to do without the bike getting very unsettled. My hands were aching by the bottom from the effort.

But after getting through that the reward was the nice run up the valley through Wonglepong to the climb to Curtis Falls. I didn't feel quite as good as last year (or at least my memory of how i felt ) but still caught and dropped about 20 riders, and was only passed by 1 other. I think i took 2-3 minutes off last year's time, keen to see when the times go up.

Then it was time for some very annoying backtracking and looping around the plateau to make up the required distance, when i'm out for a ride (other than doing repeats for training) i like to actually go somewhere, if i wanted to expend a lot of energy and not go anywhere i'd be in a spin class.

The scenery is very nice for the most part though, and the marshalls on the course were, without exception, very friendly and happy, so it wasn't too tedious.

I wrapped things up quite quickly, which left plenty of time for sight seeing with the better half, and then off home for a well earned rest .

Will be commuting on the Oppy for the first time tomorrow, looking forward to it . And then having a crack at improving my KOM on the 'Mal's Sprint' segment.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Funnily enough, after thrashing myself at Tamborine yesterday, this morning's commute was a little slower than usual .Not too bad though, and the run back in the arvo with a nice tailwind went very well. Loving the Oppy, she absolutely hammers, i was sitting on 38-40kmh quite happily this arvo.

The afternoon run could have been even better were it not for a backpack of work uniform and steel cap boots, and 2 spare tyres round my shoulders. When the old timers wrapped spare tubulars around their shoulders it looked pro, when i try the same with cheap wire bead clinchers, it doesn't quite work .And i found out the hard way that having a wire bead digging into the back of your neck isn't particularly comfortable.

As the wind was in the right direction i had a crack at mal's sprint after ditching the backpack and tyres and in spite of the very tired legs managed my 3rd fastest time. When i have fresh legs this thing is going to FLY.

So Tuesday was interesting, it reached 39 degrees here but because the humidity was very low i was able to work through it at a steady pace (making sure i kept plenty of water up).

Today i woke up with a bit of a tummy bug, so my morning ride was mostly quite uninspiring (except for a stretch north of Coolum where i was able to keep pace with a car until i was doing 52kmh and started to hurt a bit ), i improved a bit as the day wore on so decided to have a crack at a couple of segments on the way home and managed the KOM for one . Both my legs and the bike felt absolutely fantastic, and so i averaged 35kmh for a lumpy 5.1k course.

It bodes well for my first crit on the new track in Noosa tomorrow night, be there from 5:30 to laugh at my pitiful attempts to drag myself over that hill . Should be fun .

EDIT: and the 1995 vintage Dawes jersey i managed to win on ebay for just 5 pounds arrived today, it is utterly IMMACULATE, brand new never been worn. That will definitely be changing soon . Stand by for a pic of my Dawes bike with Dawes water bottle, Dawes bottle cage, Dawes toe clips, Dawes handlebars, Dawes jersey, Dawes shop advertising sign, 1984 Dawes catalogue and Dawes jersey . I'm starting to get a bit of a thing for that bike .

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Last. Not just in the back of the bunch but stone dead last. As much as i tell myself that my legs were feeling very good, i averaged nearly 46kmh for my best lap, I thought the last lap was actually the second last lap, and i was in completely the wrong position to do anything anyway, i'm still not really happy.

I DON'T like coming last, anything else is ok but not last. But on the plus side, i am now about as motivated as i have ever been, i am NOT going to let that happen again, so first thing tomorrow i am out for some hill repeats at at least 200% effort.

Final position aside, the race was great, the track is UNBELIEVABLE at race speed, the Oppy felt fantastic and my legs were really good. A bit less than an ideal amount of sleep last night and going straight from a difficult day at work to the track probably didn't help. There's another crit next Friday and i WILL do much better .

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Thanks Fiona (my turn to get encouragement ), i still had a lot of fun, which is the important thing really. Flying down that hill and hitting the bottom turn at 60+kmh felt sooo good!

And the sausage sizzle tasted great afterwards too .

Up earlyish this morning to get in some hill repeats, i must have worked harder than i thought last night as my legs were a bit lacklustre, still gave it what i had though. I'll be treading a fine line this week between training hard and keeping myself fresh for the crit on Friday.

I'm pretty sure i'll have a crack at the Rapha Festive 500 challenge on Strava, 500k in 8 days will be quite a step up, especially fitting it around work and family obligations, but the tentative plan is 200k over the Blackall Range on Boxing Day, the Noosa L'Eroica long course on the arvo of the 29th, then the 200k again the next day. Should be interesting .

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

anyway you look at it that track is a real test - you did really well - you didn't get dropped and rolled in with the rest of them - next week you will have it sussed.

RE Rapha - mmm looked at that but given I only average about 100 per week might be too much....especially as my birthday is 25/12 and I might be in toruble if I took off to ride the bike...

tried the hill on the reverse today (like you guys rode last night) my top speed was your average ..... but like you say good fun

'raced' with the girls.. and the grandson even did 3 laps on his bike with training wheels - bless..Tony (husband) beat us all....but had great fun. we all practised our victory salutes - mine is a bit pathetic - given I can only take one hand off at a time...think I will have plenty of time to practice though

That sounds like a great way to spend a saturday . Very definitely B grade, when those A grade blokes decide to turn up the heat holy mackerel they move. I'll be on the Malvern Star again,so should be easy to spot as there aren't many of them around.

Just updated my tally for the year and up to 6951k now, should be over 7000 after tomorrow .

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Well sunday didn't involve any riding due to the day starting a LOT later than planned (something like 6 hrs later) but Stef and i were able to lock in the venue for our reception, we're starting to confirm the arivee and departe of the stages for our upcoming Tour de Getting Hitched.

Today i had to forgo commuting on the bike due to work commitments, and instead spent the afternoon on the stationary trainer doing sprint intervals. Given the 30 minutes was an average of 154bpm and a max of 182, you can guess how it felt. I knew i was doing the standing 10 second efforts properly too, as the trainer ended up 2 feet from where i started . Following that with half an hour of stretching and a cold shower and i feel GREAT .

Tomorrow after work i'll be heading off on my 1986 Univega SupraSport to do the Noosa L'Eroica long course (not least because it hasn't been made a strava segment yet), 105km or thereabouts including some extensive dirt sections and tough climbs. Can't wait!

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

So yesterday i couldn't wait to ride the L'Eroica course, today.... I can wait a while til i do it again.

I was all fired up to get the last few things sorted on the bike (lights and checking tightness of bolts) the second i knocked off work yesterday, when 3 people walked through the door within 2 minutes of close. . "That's not a good omen" i thought, to which i immediately replied "Don't be ridiculous, of course it isn't, it'll be fine".

So i kicked off the ride nearly an hour later than i had planned, but set off with my legs singing, and the Univega roaring along at 40+kmh on the flats. On reaching the first hill though i was reminded why i don't ride it often, the road buckling 15kg weight makes climbing horrifically slow. I still ticked along all right though, got to Cooroy without any worries (the last 2 times i've done the course i haven't managed to get that far, on one occasion a crank arm came off, on the other the rider did!) and then set a good pace to Pomona. By this stage i had already ridden through several showers, but instead of acknowledging that the omen may have had some merit, i gleefully told myself that it simply meant i wouldn't have to worry about dust .

After a tough slog along Jampot Creek Road i reached Cooran, with the light already fading quickly. The more sensible part of me entertained the thought of heading back to Noosa, but was, as usual, shouted down and i carried on.

Now during the day, the gravel roads through the forest around Tandur feel very remote. At night, they are bloody terrifying. Normally my 900 lumen magicshine is enough to keep me feeling comfortable but out there it felt like a child wandering about with a candle. There was a fair bit of rustling in the scrub beside the road but i was looking STRAIGHT AHEAD, i was NOT interested in knowing what was making any of the noises! While there were a fair few sections that had recently been graded and were in good shape, there were also plenty of stretches with rough corrugations and loose skatey gravel, and my average speed suffered terribly. Even on the good sections i simply couldn't go more than about 35kmh in case a pothole, wallaby or serial killer suddenly appeared from the gloom beyond the reach of my light, and a few times the firm hardpacked surface abruptly gave way to half inch thick ball bearing gravel while i was travelling MUCH faster than is comfortable on that surface.

I managed to clear the infamous Shadbolt Road without serious incident (though the rough and very steep downhill immediately after the crest had me clipping one foot out to regain some semblance of control) and got through Cedar Pocket well enough, though very slowly.

By the time i reached Kin Kin, it was 8:20 and i was cold, muddy, hungry and tired. I had the gel i had brought with me (that was all i had as of course i thought "it's only 100k i can knock that over in 3 hrs") and the first water since Noosa (the Univega has no bottle cage mounts, and again, i had thought it wouldn't take long) and thought about the situation.

The sea breeze that had been a welcome tailwind in the beginning had not eased off after dark as i expected, but was now a howling gale. That meant the remaining 50 or so kms (much of which is horribly exposed) would be straight into a headwind, and i wouldn't have a hope of finishing before 10pm. As luck (such luck as i was having) would have it, i somehow had enough signal to receive a text from Stef to let me know she had just finished work and was i still riding? Hmmm. Yes, as a matter of fact, i am still riding, and is there any chance you could pick up my pitiful self from Pomona? Naturally, being the angel she is, she met me with a smile and a towel after i rode there from Kin Kin at a surprisingly reasonable pace, and i managed to collapse in to bed some time after 11.

So lesson learned, do NOT underestimate the L'Eroica course! It's amazing just how much riding on the 'strada bianche' takes out of you, i had thought that my exhaustion at the completion of both L'Eroicas so far was due to the extended stops, which i'm not used to, but it seems that didn't have anything to do with it.

Of course my over riding emotion is disappointment that i didn't complete the course, the only reason i set out to do it was so that i could create a Strava segment for the full course and that will now have to wait. (I think it's possible to create a segment without riding it first but i'd rather not).

So today, shock horror, i didn't ride, and tomorrow....probably not! Maybe just a very light spin to make sure the legs don't get too used to resting, but i am very focused on Friday night's crit and i'm absolutely determined to do well.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

Race time, and i was happy to find we were going anti clockwise again, although there was the small matter of a very tough headwind across the bottom part of the course.

So we set off with a big field of around 30 (which felt like thousands through the corners, the track is pretty wide for a dedicated crit track but at 60kmh with people a couple of inches away it feels a lot narrower) and i sat in the pack to get a feel for what the wind was going to do. After a few laps i was getting a bit nervous, a few times there were abrupt slow downs and changes of line that had me on edge.

Then as we crossed the top a customer from the pool shop who had come to have a look called out "make a move locky!".

Well working in retail has taught me that the customer is always right, and i am nothing if not accomodating, so on the next climb i moved up on the outside, then attacked across the top, rocketing down under the bridge and on to the back straight. I looked around and saw no one, so kept going. I kept my momentum up the climb and across the top, and then started to flag a bit. By the time i got on to the back straight and in to the headwind for a second time it was obvious i had completely burnt myself, and i was swamped going up the climb.

It was a terribly timed move, as the lap after i went was the start of a 3 lap points race, so the strong riders who had been on the front were pushing hard for those 3 laps and formed a breakaway. I kept dropping back through the field until i regained some composure and started to claw my way back up.By the end i had managed to clear the main groups but was still well down on the lead group of 10 or so.

So i'm neither here nor there with that result, on one hand i had fun charging off the front, i finished a long way from last and my legs felt VERY good. On the other hand, it showed that i STILL need to work out how to actually THINK while i'm racing and that i'm not strong enough. I want more, MUCH more. The silver lining, as with last week's race, is that it has motivated me to train HARD, really hard.

For all of the self loathing, i do need to point out that i did actually have a great time, not least when watching the A grade race, where a 17 yr old by the name of Ryan Cavanagh took off only a few laps in and then stayed about half a lap in front of the rest for the WHOLE race. Sure he is with the Queensland Academy of Sport but still i (and everyone else there) was absolutely stunned that he was able to do that with the headwind. Especially when you take in to account the pack contained, among others, Andy Fellows (a national level elite MTB racer) and Ben Kersten, an extremely successful former world champion, commonwealth gold medallist and he's even beaten Chris Hoy!

Some easy riding for the weekend as i'm sure my legs are going to be a bit tender after tonight, and then right back into some hard intervals for next week.

When man invented the bicycle he reached the peak of his attainments- Elizabeth West.

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